Spirit of kasol

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I Had 12 Days Of Freedom With No Internet Access At SSB Bhopal

I Had 12 Days Of Freedom With No Internet Access At SSB Bhopal
-Ambika Bhan (Athena)
To begin with a paradox, that I am posting this article on WordPress (internet) and that I work for a company that is based wholly on the viral content floating the internet. So while 19 Nov 2015 came as the most important day of my life I never knew that it would reveal to me this magical experience.
As I had it, the still calmness of the military cantt was the first thing that took me over at ssb Bhopal more than that it was the zero contact to the chaotic city that left me spellbound. Nostalgia engulfed me as remembered my childhood in open spaces of Himachal and the long playful jogs through those terrains and fields. We were asked to submit our phones which was enough of a heartbreak for everybody. My sneaking away and not submitting it was aptly punished by the God .
I broke my phone accidentally.
So that was the end of my dear Microsoft Lumia.
Anyways as the days of Psych test , GTO, Interview proceeded I started realizing the absolute increase in my levels of focus towards the tests, towards making relationships with the people around me, towards becoming everyone’s favorite, making them laugh till they rolled on the floor, taking care of them. I purposely decided not to call my parents for all those 5 days. And the sense of freedom that it brought to me … no unending , piling email, no whats app beeps, no Facebook notifications… everything was so liberating.
I didn’t need to go to Himalyas to get a feel of heaven , to take sanyas .. I had my nirvana right there. And for the first time in so many years I discovered BOREDOM. Yes ! That feeling we had in those lazy Sunday afternoons when we were kids , or that feeling when in dark wintry nights electricity went off and we had nothing to do than sitting around the fire watching the sparkles rising and dancing to the puffs that our mother blew over it. Yes that exact BOREDOM.
So we were there in the barracks , with “Nothing To Do” and yes no arm length crutches like mobiles that even didn’t let us remember the meaning of being bored. And then like I had always been .. I went up and picked up that basketball. Played in that court, getting my hands all dirty and clothes all sweaty , and in running like some 7 year old around without a care in the world . And that’s when I knew whats freedom.
I knew what’s freedom when I met my childhood version there.. dancing in madness in rooms, playing pranks on everyone. I got scolded from almost everyone at the centre from the GTO to the mess wale bhaiyya , the phone operator and the gatesman but I took home a crazy me, a reclaimed me and yes …
A YES FROM THE INDIAN ARMY SAYING … “YOU HAVE IT IN YOU”.
The day of the conference was one hell eventful. Recommended for the Indian Army I was and that meant another week or so of staying in the cantt for a detailed medical examination. On the coinsistent pleads of my parents to whom I broke the good news I bought a phone for 900 bucks, which I now lovingly call ‘my dbba phone’. It somehow did bring a smile to my face thinking that maybe I will land up in Officers Training Academy as it felt like an intuition to get rid of the habit of smartphones.
At the end of those 12 days here I am and I tell you I checked on to my Facebook and was overwhelmed with 250+ notifications, 60+ messages and 55+ friend requests. Partly due to this absence and partly of all the congratulatory messages that pored in. Here I am back in this maddenning crowd and I am hating every bit of it and so badly I wanna return to that aura again.
All I wanna say is Shut It Out Guys … Get Bored … Get Innovative … Get Healthy
p.s- Counting days to go to ssb Allahabad
P.p.s- I didn’t get my phone repaired and neither bought a new one
‪#‎IndiaArmy‬
‪#‎SSBBhopal‬
‪#‎Nostalgia‬

Will The Modi Magic Work In US ? Agenda And Expectations

.Much has been said and done in the intellectual circles pertaining to the Indo – US relations. After the onset of the new government and the rise of Mr.Modi as the face of India the Indo-US relations have seen a major, if not a drastic shift. The presence of a strong leadership at the center definitely has improved the bargaining capacity of India and made it  a major stakeholder in the global arena

So what are the agendas and expectations that come with this visit to US? For the record the first Modi-Obama visit was more so a state visit unlike this, which is a work on progress.

The main agenda that stems up from this visit is the increase of bilateral trade with us up to 5 times .Also keeping in mind that the US is the buyer of Indian services and we have a trade surplus with the US , that can be furthur  enhanced to strengthen ties and to improve upon the bargaining capacity of India

Gauging the historical ties one may find that the 1992 leap of the Indian economy and the LPG reforms were possible only because of the US. As in the case of India there has been The backward penetration of the IT sector. The opening up of the markets in 1992 led to India making the IT services for the US which resulted into IT penetration into India as well. So IT as always will be the strategic sector driving Indo-US cooperation.

India is the rising star in the global economy and a major investment destination to many MNCs . Modi’s silicon valley visit is expected to boost the campaign of digital India back home. As the land of start ups and the cradle of technology in the world it can reap many benefits to the Digital India programme. From pitching in new ideas and innovations to attracting investment , modi’s visit to the silicon is a big step towards digitization . Also he may bank upon the growing Indian diaspora in the valley.

It is high time that India looks beyond IT sector and becomes an effective exporter of goods to US . Also since US is so keen on selling arms to India it has formed a country specific arms cell for India in the pentagon. India must effectively utilize this option to not just purchase arms but also to develop its own capacity building into making of arms and ammunition.

What Mr. Modi should aim at is a defense trade and technology initiative.

Mr. Modi’s visit to Tesla is another important facet which clearly shows the agenda of embarking on new horizons in the field of Renewable energy . Tesla has been achieving new breakthroughs in the field of solar energy , especially the making of solar batteries . This is a wonderful opportunity to drive home the technology which will become useful for the smart city initiative.

The Indo- US start up summit is also expected to give a huge boost to the Indian entrepreneurs to get global investment and recognition and also exposure on such a huge scale. But the Indian government would have to keep in mind the ease of doing business index which ranks India fairly low. The trust deficit faced by the investors has to be checked and reduced by removal of policy paralysis and steps towards single window clearances etc.

The whole plethora of indo -us relations has been a package of security, economy and environment and amidst all this the grappling question that Mr. Modi has to deal with is that what would it take him to pitch in US for the permanent UNSC seat to India ?

The cards are on the table and overall its  a positive outcome that is expected to come out of this strategic visit. The only winning point remains is India’s bid to a permanent UNSC seat and that too with a VETO! 

Why India Deserves The Permanent Membership Of UNSC?

UNSC is one of the highest decision making body over peace and security of a region. Originally it had 4 permanent members later china was included in 1963. Since then no reform has taken place. The UN General Assembly on Monday adopted a negotiating text by consensus for the long-pending Security Council reforms, setting the stage for talks on the issue at its 70th session beginning Tuesday, boosting India’s bid for a permanent seat in the revamped world body.

The question arises, why the reforms needed?

1.Geo-politics have gone a sea-change
2. Over 2.5 billion population has increased
3. Increasing threats from extremist groups
4. ARBITRARY utilization of power such as the US invasion of Iraq without UNSC’s authorization etc
5. Political bias over highly disturbed regions

Presently the 5 permanent members are all developed nations and consequently it has been seen that the interests of the developing countries are often undermined be it nuclear issues or climate change. India being a land off different communities and cultures would be able to project their view in growing discrimination over the world over various issues.

India’s support in the peace keeping mission has much more significance as compared to other member which shows willingness to create a peaceful environment in the world . In fact India’s peace keeping forces are more than those combined of the 5 permanent members.

India itself is facing territorial and border disputes with neighboring countries , a permanent position will further help to resolve this issue. The major opposition with respect to the grant of permanent membership is coming from China and Pakistan. Its imperative that the rising hegemony of China in the Asian subcontinent is checked or else there’s every possibility that we might head to a 3rd world war or even a cold war for that matter. Also the growing relations between china and Pakistan are not good for the overall world peace.

One of the largest and young democracy India has set an example as to the smooth and non violent transition of power into the hands of people. And the way it has been carrying out the processes and institutions of this democracy is commendable and shows India’s rise as a very capable and mature state.Apart from being the 3rd largest economy which has till now successfully withstood the global economic depression India also has the 3rd largest standing ARMY and is a Nuclear power state.And lastly India has made a mark for itself in the field of space technology , achieved a feat that was up till now the reserved domain of the P5.

Despite all this , if the US and China think that they shall hold India back from the UNSC it shows their insecurity and ill intentions to hold the power and misuse it as they have been doing till date. My India is a star and it shall shine the brightest as always . US n China or any despot for that matter can go to hell.
JAI HIND . JAI BHARAT.

The Debate That Is Shaking India – Who Are We Fighting In Our Battle Against Sexual Violence?

To begin with let me draw your attention to Sunitha Krishnan, the activist leading the #ShameTheRapist campaign, filmmaker Leslee Udwin (“India’s Daughter”) and journalist and editor Barkha Dutt, discuss the politics of shame and stigma in India during the Women in the World summit in New York City. While the internet and media is all gaga about the fierce response that Barkhaa dutt gave to the anchor of the show defending her country and the so called western propaganda associated with shaming India as the land of rapists , it was much more than that that grabbed my attention.

1. Hearing Leslie Udwin all through the debate I could feel the goosebumps that I got from the conviction that i saw in her eyes. The conviction towards a cause that was so dear to not just an Indian or american but to each n every citizen. I was  awed by the humility and the attitude by which she out-rightly refused to be called as a British, claiming to be a global citizen. Well in this era of technology aren’t we all global citizens as well?
2. I guess we Indian’s can never get away from that mental sickness of ” LOG KYA KAHENGE”. What the intent of creating that video was not shaming India . The video was to shame ALL THE RAPISTS. The video was to shame the sick justifications that we , our families , our ministers give to justify the causes of rape.
3. I would even go to the extent of treating that documentary as a tribute to all those hundreds of men and women who flocked the roads, braved the atrocities and sent a loud clear message to this world that ITS NO LONGER THE INDIA OF SATI AND DRAUPADI ITS THE INDIA OF DREAMS , HOPES AND CHANGE. Have you ever seen a protest of such scale in a UK or USA ? How come you didn’t see that those people protested because in India we still respect our women and that we as young men and women are brave, very brave to rise above everything and even slap our own skewed traditions or mindsets that bring us this shame? The world must have been proud of India .
4. During that one month every Indian on the street ,was not fighting for Nirbhaya or for the Indian women, but the woman of the world. They fought for the divine feminine.
5. We are not talking about America or India, we are talking about the garbage that we feed into the minds of our children boys and girls. The rapist’s response was reflective of that. Of course we know that was what it was supposed to be , but tell me truly haven’t you heard the same exact lines spoken by your fathers and brothers about not going out after dark, about not dressing up in a particular way. Haven’t you seen how all the movies bollywood/hollywood potray a well groomed , well behaved woman getting the love of her life and someone like Veronica (Deepika padukone) of cocktail left loveless.So its we who have taught a thinking like that.
6. Coming to Barkhaa, she was equally good in clearing the air about India’s image that has been portrayed to the world and I really appreciate her for that , for highlighting the intrinsic values that the modern India holds and attaches to womanhood. I personally feel that the west does no good in terms of equality of woman. Be it Hollywood or anything else for that matter what is this obsession over the parameters of beauty that they set for a woman. why can’t the accept that being a nerd is okay? Why has the monster of capitalism grappled them to an extent that they are completely blind to the other necessities of humans?Why don’t you look at the India where now parents put their everything at stake to educate their daughter, give her her dreams ? Do you see that in america ? I am proud to belong to a country where  families would go extra mile in the face of a crisis to cushion the person.Where they would sell of their own luxuries to see their children become doctors and engineers.
7. The comments of the lawyers were enough to infuriate anyone. We might not accept but deep down we all know how many times have we heard these remarks from our near and dear ones. Sometimes it takes a bomb to make the deaf hear and shock to make the world respond!
8. Lastly what one sees is the solidarity and oneness with which these two women stood with each other. Beyond boundaries united for womanhood and with a hope that world needs to be united against a change.

We fight against the devil of our own creation . We fight against the devil in us.

-Athena

Why India And Bharat Are Two Different Countries

I live in a land where not just in terms of wealth but also in terms of mindsets and intellects we have a huge gap. I choose to call this concept as CULTURAL LAG. So basically we are two different countries residing on this same piece of land India And Bharat.

One the one hand we have this ironical scenario where the wealth gap between the rich and the poor is so wide that you can almost find a skimpily clad girl stepping out of a Lamborghini and at the same place a skimpily clad man with just a bony skeleton and an empty plate.

What is more intriguing is the fact that how superficial have we become in our thinking. For God's sake where is the this country's intelligentsia? I search them because they need to give some lessons of basic common sense to these celebrities and hotshot people just like the RBI chose to give to the businesses.

There is a thing called as the corporate social responsibility whereby for each business house it is mandatory to put some amount of their profits into welfare of the common public. Indeed a wonderful concept! Like turning the tide of capitalism towards socialistic shores. Similarly what the intelligentsia needs to is to infest the influential people especially celebrities with the idea that you owe something to the social fabric of this country and that something is not money ... It is ETHICS AND DECENCY.

In India people know that a girl wearing a short skirt is not a big deal but sorry to say in Bharat, a guy with that narrow a mindset doesn't think so and it has nothing to do with the person. There are a plenty of reasons majority of them being sociological for such a phenomena. Shared values of a community, the personality, the individual's environment and on top of that education and the proximity one has had towards his/her family to name a few.

While I would love to go into the details of each but for now what is pertinent to mention is that WE ARE NOT AMERICA. We don't have a 100%literacy rate. We don't have a 24/7 exposure to and availability of internet all over our country. We don't have libraries in all nooks and corners of our cities , leave alone villages. Screw that! We don't even have schools for all.

So to all the celebrities, godmen and other perpetrators of culture in this country... What are you thinking when you make item numbers.What are you thinking when you deliver sermons that this world is transient and you need to focus on the other world. 
Do you have any idea what a laymen with not so developed cognitive skills to distinguish between these hi-fi philosophies would do? No, don't think he would ignore you. Oh! he idolizes you Mr.Baba . He will just stop working, just stop fending his wife and children , take that bloody SANYASA and say that this world is transient.And that would just create a GOOD FOR NOTHING POPULATION.

And equally amusing is the Bollywood, the news more so the entire media industry of ours. On one hand we have a newspaper with the level of the Hindu and Indian express and on the other hand we have news channels like IBN 7 that show everything apart from the news. I personally beleive the most misused article of the Indian constitution is the Art 19 Freedom To Speech. While we as a democracy boast of giving the freedom of expression and speech to every citizen, we fail to realize that with rights come equal responsibilities and duties not to take advantage of them. 

So, while people like Honey Singh do have the freedom of speech and expression, they need to realize that what they make and produce is not just theirs but belongs to people as well. With such a huge fan following and the realization that whatever you say n make will be blindly followed and idolized by people who don't have the intellectual capacity to just ignore and chuck it off as mere entertainment. When you commodify and objectify women, when you  proclaim that,"han mein alcoholic hu", do you even realize that a 7 year old chap chants your songs like mantra and thinks its just cool to be what you show you are. 

A young college graduate from a top notch college has the wisdom to judge and understand what is meant and what should be just taken as joke but a person of the same age residing in a village, who may or may not have any access to education, who may or may not have ever spoken to girls and woman in a normal fashion, who has never ever been exposed to the basic ideals of liberty, equality, justice nad rationality that our constitution stands upon,who still thinks and believes that a man and woman are not the same thanks to the cultural lag this country has and the low levels of education what message do you think is passed on to him. And then we have the same people who think its cool and okay to assault a girl wearing short clothes because a girl's character is directly proportional to the length of her clothes. 

So if you think Eminem abusing in his videos is bad. Well its not bad for America when 100% of America is modernized and educated and also because Eminem doesn't write for India and Afghanistan and also because almost half of India doesn't listen to Eminem but 99% of India listens to idiotic Bollywood item songs and plays them in all stupid wedding celebrations.

On that note , all I wanna say is please beware of what you are feeding this country and its people. Its not just the politics that is marred by this 'chalta hai' attitude , its not about corruption in economic spheres, its also about corrupting one's mind . So please don't go by things ... don't sell them because market mein yhi chalta hai... wo chalta hai kyunki wo bikta hai.

- Athena 

For the pledge I have been taken for the 15 years of my school life each morning

"To my country and my people, I pledge my devotion.In their well being and prosperity alone, lies my happiness"

MISCONCEIVED FEMINISM

THE TRAP ... THE SHAM FEMINISM
https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1517494311834425
© ATHENA Coelho
 Woman - the weaker sex , the fair sex , the epitome of sacrifice , the ideal of surrender , the reservoir of love and care .
 How beautiful these words seem .? And yet how miserably we fail to gauge the latent meanings that these phrases carry .
 -"Would you plz cook the with dinner beti??"
 - "hey sister , would u please iron my shirt ?
 - "oh beti , y don't u study furthur till u get married ? As it is y do u hv to work ? We will find a rich guy for u.
 - sweetheart , plz leave ur job so that we can be together "
 - honey , I love u so much that's why I hate it when u talk to other guys .
 - oh please baby , just wear salwaar suit n saree in front of my parents "
 - mom , why cant you just cook like the neighbourhood aunty ?? "
 And the list goes on ...
 I am a feminist , albeit a proud one but I fail to understand how foolish can a woman be . How easily could you be tricked to believe that you have equality ?
 I have been having a lot of debates with few friends who think that deepika padukone's viral video propagates feminism . Don't mean to get personal but here's my take .
 - The biggest paradox that we live in , especially in our country is to believe in the uniformity of PEOPLE .
 India and Bharat ... These are two different nations on the same land . While we are fools to believe that only 4 metros n a bunch of uber urban cities is wt constitutes the population , let me tell u ...
 This minuscule amount of population doesn't evn vote properly .
 This population represents Indi , not Bharat .
 This population has the CULTURAL CAPITAL to make a voice heard .
 AND FEMINISM IS NOT N SHOULD NEVER BE THE MONOPOLY OF THIS POPULATION. .
 My opposition isn't about deepika padukone . ITS HER CHOICE .My opposition Is for the fact that people want to associate it with feminism .
 U talk of feminism ...
 Talk about it when the subtle fangs of patriarchy bite u n u don't even realise that .
 Talk about feminism ...
 -When ur parents tell you to pursue IAS ovr IPS because its a tough Job .
 - when ur brother asks u y r u so late , evn if he may never answer that question for you
 - when ur boyfriend is possesive and u succumb to it just giving it the name of love .
 - talk about feminism when a girl leaves her career for her would be husband just in order to satisfy his BLOODY FRUSTRATED MALE EGO .
 - talk about feminism when a girl stops talking n spending time with guys just cz her boyfriend hates it .
 - talk about feminism where in a village a girl does all the household chores while his brother roams on a bike the whole day .
 - talk about feminism when ur mother comes back from office n still cooks for ur father while ur father relaxes...
 - when domestic violence, bride burnings , dowry deaths , rapes happen
 AND FOR GOD SAKE OPEN UR EYES N DONT DEFEND ALL OF THESE WITH A STATEMENT
 "I love my man/husband/family . I respect them and I can do anything for them "
 Dont say
 "love is sacrifice . It is surrender
 BS EK AURAT NE PYAAR KA THEKA NHI LEKE RKHA HAI
 TALK ABOUT FEMINISM WHEN UR BOYFRIEND TELLS U THAT HE WILL PROTECT U ... CZ U WILL NOT EVEN REALISE WHEN THE PROTECTOR BECOMES A PERPETRATOR.
 AND WHEN ALL THE MEN IN UR LIFE are ready to do the same things for u ...
 - when ur dad cooks food everyday in the evnin
 - when ur brother washes utensils ( p.s- mine does.. I make him do it)
 - when ur boyfriend leaves ur job to move with u .
 THAT DAY MY SISTERS STOP TALKING ABOUT FEMINISM .
 Showing off a bra strap , or walking around with a blood stained skirt or having sex outside marriage IS NOT FEMINISM ...
 In this world of beasts
 A simple life of dignity ,, no rapes , no domestic violence , a mind that is enlightened , a pair of hands that are skilled , friends and family that genuinely love and respect AND PUSH U HIGHER , a beautiful smile on ur face , strength in ur actions character and thoughts , ur own house and a fairly well bank balance ...
 THIS IS FEMINISM .